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Several changes come into effect in 2017!

Since 1st January several changes have taken place in various areas of Brussels life. The registration of residential tenancy contracts can no longer be made by email or fax; the level of penal fines has been increased; self-employed women have the right to longer maternity leave; a BE HOME rebate is granted to Brussels home-owners; and there are new procedures for household garbage collection.

The Expat Welcome Desk explains these changes in detail below.1) Three possibilities for registering tenancy contracts

· From now on it is no longer possible to register tenancy agreements by sending them by email or fax to the registration office.

· You now have only three options: deliver them by hand to the registration office, send them by the post or use the MyRent application (if you have received an electronic identity card from your commune).

2) Penal fines are now more expensive: the amount payable for penal fines stipulated by a law or court judgement still has to be indexed (known in French as the “décimes additionnels”). Before 1st January 2017 we had to multiply by 6 to obtain the amount of the fine. From now on we have to multiply by 8. For example, using your telephone while driving now costs an additional 40 euros and drunk driving an extra 400 euros.

3) Maternity leave for self-employed women has been increased from 8 to 12 weeks. If you wish, you may also split up this leave and take some of it while working part-time.

4) BE HOME rebate: to compensate for increases in property taxes, home owners in Brussels occupying their own property receive the BE HOME flat rebate (per household, per year) of 120 euros. To accelerate the refund fill out the form "be home" on https://irisbox.irisnet.be/irisbox/